Why NSF Certified Water Filters Are The Only Ones Worth Buying
NSF Certified logo
THIS IS WHY NSF CERTIFICATION IS IMPORTANT:
The NSF is a non-profit organization dedicated to analyzing and testing products for safety and quality. "NSF" stands for "National Sanitation Foundation" and they are known world wide as a consumer-advocate organization that you can rely on for safety in food and water products.
If it is "NSF Certified" or has the NSF logo on it you know it's a quality product that has been tested and certified.
That said, not all "NSF Certified" products are equally good or of equal quality.
Take water filters for example:
One water filter might be NSF Certified for only "Standard 42" which only addresses "aesthetic" concerns such as smell and taste. Often some less than professional water filter companies push their filter as NSF Certified and prey on the ignorant consumer who doesn't realize that NSF Certified for Standard 42 means only that, for example, it has been certified to reduce chlorine and chloramine. While it is good to reduce these contaminants, it is not nearly enough to make a water filter worth buying and using.
So the most important NSF Certifications where water filters are concerned is Standard 53 and the new NSF Standard 401.
Standard 53 is the NSF Certification that deals with various contaminants of health concern.
Under Standard 53 Multipure reduces:
- Lead
- Mercury
- PCB's
- Toxaphene
- Chlordane
- Radon
- and so on... See more here
However, not all "Standard 53" certifications are equal either.
When looking at water filters one must look to see what contaminants the NSF has certified the filter to reduce. Some may reduce all of the above and many more, and some may only reduce 5 or 6.
In order to compare water filters accurately one must look at the list of contaminants they are NSF Certified to reduce, and see which one reduces the most, or at least which one reduces the ones that you are most concerned with.
NOW ALL MULTIPURE AQUAVERSA WATER FILTER SYSTEMS ARE ALSO CERTIFIED UNDER THE NEW NSF STANDARD 401!
Standard 401 Certifies that Multipure Aquaversaa filters also reduce the following:
- BPA
- DEET
- ibuprofen
- estrone (a hormone)
- and many other prescription drugs, medications, herbicides, pesticides and organic compounds
- SEE THE FULL LIST HERE
Any good water filter will provide a "Performance Data" sheet or some document with a similar name which will list all the contaminants that the NSF has certified it to reduce, and what percentages.
One filter model from one company might reduce 99 percent of mercury, for example, while another one might only reduce 97%. One might reduce asbestos while another one may not.
The NSF tests water filters for quality of workmanship as well as for consistency and reliability of contaminant reduction. The NSF also requires that a company not make false claims on the product box or literature as well as on web sites such as this one.
So once you know this information it becomes much easier to compare various water filter systems and make an educated comparison. You can simply download the pdf''s of 2 or 3 filters' Performance Data and see which contaminants and the percentage of those contaminants that is being reduced by each of the water filters.
In conclusion, the NSF is your assurance of quality as well as your way of being able to compare water filters with a water filter comparison chart like the one here.
We at ComparingWaterFilters.com want to give you the information you need to make a well educated decision when you decide which water filter system is best for you and your family. That's why we created the Water Filter Comparison Chart and this page and others about how to choose your best water filter.
